Solar Cells

millsy

4x4 Earth Contributer
Has anyone 'done the deed' and set up a solar array?

I am building what was supposed to be a little wood shed in the back yard. Then I thought I could add to it sideways and build a boat shed onto the wood shed. Today I thought why not add a frame angled towards the Sun and get in on the $8000 subsidy before it gets reduced in a few weeks time.

I am wondering if the fact that the 'erection' is about 12 to 15m away from the switch/fuse box in the house is going to be a problem as far as losing energy in the connecting wire.

Also, has anyone else built a free standing support in their yard, rather than just plop it on the roof. I have a big gum tree that shades our roof and I don't think it would be possible to chop it down. The shed is on the north side of the tree so it solves that problem!

And is the promise of getting, I think, 44cents for every killowatt hour you put back into the grid actually happening? I think I heard some one say that their energy company is not honouring that deal!

Also, has anyone worked out which particular type of solar cells are the best to install in terms off cost, efficiency, life-span, maintenance, . . . ? I think he talked about thin film cells and crystalline cells.

Another query would be is it actually worth angling the panels, and has anyone done this? I guess you would go for the half-way angle between the lowest winter and highest summer angles? The guy that gave me the quote this morning mentioned that some cells cope better with heat than others. So I am thinking that by raising them up off the roof, because of the angled frame, it would allow a lot of air to circulate around them and so help them to keep a little cooler. Plus the rain water, bird droppings and hail stones might be deflected a little.

And what about the quote he gave me - $4,800 including the $400 new meter that would be needed. How does that compare with what others have paid. And I suppose there would be an issue of trusting a new company that might have set up recently who might offer a deal a lot less than the one I got form a well established firm. Is there any great risk, or are these things so simple to install its not really worth paying $2000 more? ( I saw an add on the tele for a 1KW set up for just $2500! )

Would really appreciate anything anyone can offer. Must admit have not done a lot of Googling as yet.

Thanks, Millsy.
 
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frosty

4x4 Earth Contributer
:confused::confused:How did checking out my "DRAWS" lead you to this??????????:rolleyes:


You're unreal!!:D:D:D:D:D:D

I'm off ta bed, catch ya later!
 

millsy

4x4 Earth Contributer
I think I was getting the itch again to play with wood. As I said, its a lot of fun for me. I just happened to be chopping through this huge pile of tree trimmings that morning, trying to cut the pieces into lengths that would fit into the slow combustion heater. Slow going with my little hand axe ( nothing big enough on top warranting the big axe as yet. ) And then I thought why not 'do it properly' and make a little woodshed so it can dry out.

Then I saw your post on the same day, where you were about to start your 'boy with his toys and tools' job, and it just seemed to me that that's what a lot of us fellas like doing - making things and then when we have finished we can stand back and say "Gee that looks good, and I made it all myself!"

At least that's one thing many of us can say we have not lost from when we were a lot younger! The joy of building. Everything else is disappearing fast - strength, stamina, eyesight, hearing, . . . . I better stop there!

I think its also got something to do with tackling some of these jobs while I have a bit of surplus income to splurge. The house is paid off, and in a few short years I will be retiring, so then there is not going to be so much to splash around! Last year I put insulation in the roof, ( and of course must not forget the MQ ). That was $2500 very well spent. The year before that was all the rainwater tanks. And the year before that I finally completed the full length carport along the side of the house. Started it twenty years ago! Was 3/4 completed 17 years ago, just needed the last 4 metres to be done.

Hope this shed/solar panel does not take that long - I haven't got that long left!

Cheers, Millsy.
 
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frosty

4x4 Earth Contributer
I think I was getting the itch again to play with wood. As I said, its a lot of fun for me. I just happened to be chopping through this huge pile of tree trimmings that morning, trying to cut the pieces into lengths that would fit into the slow combustion heater. Slow going with my little hand axe ( nothing big enough on top warranting the big axe as yet. ) And then I thought why not 'do it properly' and make a little woodshed so it can dry out.

Then I saw your post on the same day, where you were about to start your 'boy with his toys' job, and it just seemed to me that that's what a lot of us fellas like doing - making things and then when we have finished we can stand back and say "Gee that looks good, and I made it all myself!"

At least that's one thing many of us can say we have not lost from when we were a lot younger! The joy of building. Everything else is disappearing fast - strength, stamina, eyesight, hearing, . . . . I better stop there!

Cheers, Millsy.



I AGREE!!

Except for the "stamina" bit!! Good on ya.

If ya won't drive MQ that far, Drive the Commodore over to middle earth and you can navy for me, any time!!:)

NOW! I'm off!
 

millsy

4x4 Earth Contributer
Thanks for the offer! Sounds very tempting. But I have lost track of that one, and looks like I'll be still doing this 'build the shed' thing! Yeah, time for a break. I can feel the arthritis coming on with all this hammering - the keyboard that is!
 

BEK

4x4 Earth Contributer
Thanks for the offer! Sounds very tempting. But I have lost track of that one, and looks like I'll be still doing this 'build the shed' thing! Yeah, time for a break. I can feel the arthritis coming on with all this hammering - the keyboard that is!

Mr Mills

It sounds like you are building something akin the dish that will reach out far beyond Adelaide. Send any excess power to Vic mate:D

Just remember to use a couple of dopplers in the mix though:D:D:D
 

millsy

4x4 Earth Contributer
Looks like the brain is going too. Just checked - Middle Earth is not until November! It better be finished by then!

And that's the other thing I need to check before going too far. How long will it take to get my investment back. If I did have excess, that's great. I think that's where you can win out and re-coup the costs relatively quickly. But since Jenny works from home, there are lights, TV and computer on all day. So instead of getting 44cents per KwHr, you are just saving the normal cost of power - I think about 20cents per KwHr.

Might be smarter to just buy $$4800 worth of BHP shares! Surely they will go up now that the market has bottomed out? Mmmmm!

A guy at work said that he paid just $3000 for his set up. Will need to ask him which company, and if it all went OK.
 

millsy

4x4 Earth Contributer
Well I did a bit of research and found that some of these solar cell installation companies are going flat out trying to get customers before the $8000 rebate is replaced with a lesser deal at the end of the month.

Today I decided to 'sign on' with Nu Energy for what looks like a real bargain. A solar system for 'next to nothing'. It seems they can still make a profit just by getting the $8000 rebate from the government. The purchaser agrees to allow the rebate to go direct to them, and when they get the rebate they install the 1KW system for free.

You need to pay a $1000 deposit, and fill in the agreement papers. The deposit is repayable when they get the funds from the federal government rebate, and fit the system, or if for some reason the funds do not come through. You might have to pay a small surcharge for fitting if the site inspector spots any particular difficulties with your house/roof that would make the installation a lot more difficult than normal. ( e.g. a flat roof installation requires a $275 mounting frame to be fitted so that the cells are angled better towards the Sun. )

Their web-site says that on today's power prices you can average savings of about $180 per year.

So taking into account that you also have to pay between $200 and $500 for a 'smart meter' to be installed in your meter box, you could be ahead from between just over one year to maybe 4 or 5 years at the most. Could be quicker if your energy company pays more than the standard charge for 1 KWHr for any energy fed back into the grid through the smart meter. That's nothing to do with the installation company. So for an outlay of between $200 and say $800 I will hopefully be wired up to the Sun!

The cells are of the poly-crystalline type, and the inverter is a good quality German make, so they tell me. ( Sunnyboy ). 25 year guarantee, expected life time of 40 years.

They told me there is between a three month and seven month waiting time before today's orders can be expected to be installed, due to the last minute rush.

They also said that they needed the paperwork back to them, completed and signed, by June 11th, so that they can have it all in to the required government office by the end of the month. So if you're interested its time to get cracking!

http://www.nuenergy.com.au/pvsolar.php

Another company that is offering a good deal is Clear Solar. But I did not bother to ring them for details. Maybe I should have.

So cross my fingers it all goes well.
 
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millsy

4x4 Earth Contributer
Well, so much for that idea!

Sent my $1000 deposit off last week. Got the papers to fill out and sign today, and then Minister Peter Garrett pulled the plug and cut off any further $8,000 rebate deals as of today! Three weeks earlier than he had previously announced!

So now have to wait and see if and when I get my deposit back! I am guessing they will try to convince me to stick with them as they set up a new deal based on the new proposal of $7500 of carbon credits.

And just clinched a good deal on ridding the backyard of four trees, one a 60 foot gum, to let the sun shine in on my new voltaics! Bugger. Think I will go ahead with it anyway, because that gum was just getting too big for my yard. dropping the occasional limb every now and then. Hate to think what it would do if it fell on my roof - or the neighbour's!

At least there will be plenty of wood for the new woodshed - about 3 or 4 tonnes of it!
 

BEK

4x4 Earth Contributer
Hey Millsy heard on the radio today all the companies over here pushing people to sign up before 7pm tonight.

Sounds like a very hasty decision indeed maybe it was provinig to be a bit too popular and we wouldn't want to be saving to much energy in Australia now would we.:rolleyes: or could it possibly be Mr Swann was worrying about his 58 billion deficit blowing out to 58.1 billion;)
 

bmurray2250

4x4 Earth Contributer
solar panels are a great idea but someone I was talking too recent got a power bill because the read mis-read the meters. Ended up with a $700 - 800 bill which should have been $150. They read both meters and added them together. It is a good saving.
 

millsy

4x4 Earth Contributer
Yeah, I am a bit p...ed off. But also a bit relieved. As I was reading carefully through the agreement papers I had to sign for Nu Energy I just kept finding more and more 'cop out' lines from them if something goes wrong. That is they take no responsibility in several instances of a stuff up. Such as if the panels arrive at my property damaged in transit. Surely they should have some sort of insurance policy in place to cover something like that. And a sentence about 'time not being of the essence' when it came to when they were going to get installed. The more I read, the more I felt as if I was being had. And there were several more statements that sounded a bit 'fishy'. I was hoping that all these 'cop outs' were maybe just run of the mill type sentences found in most contracts between seller and buyer, and maybe I just had not done enough deals like this to know. Not sure.

So maybe just as well that Mr Garret 'pulled the plug' on his solar give aways - as far as I am concerned in this Nu Energy deal anyway. Now just have to hope I have not lost my $1000 deposit!
 
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